Working up to wind-down

Still truckin’: A CSS Tp dump truck assists with roadworks in East Timor.

By Cpl Damian Shovell

THE CSS troop posted to the UNSF Support Company at Moliana is one of the busiest troops in East Timor and as the mission cease-date approaches its workload is expected to increase.

CSS Troop Commander Capt Elisabeth Barnett said the troop was focused on sustaining and supporting the UN mission, but was preparing for the added task of getting much of the ADF assets in East Timor back to Australia when the mission ended on May 20.

“We knew we were coming to extract, but that hasn’t stopped anyone getting on with the mission,” she said.

Originally the 34 strong CSS troop was comprised of 7CSSB, 2CER, 1CSSB, 10FSB and 1HSB personnel. The personnel did not get together until early May last year and then deployed on December 10.

“Until we got here we hadn’t all worked together, but had no problems quickly meshing our skills,” she said.

The blend of different units and corps extended to the workshop, transport, RAP and Q-Store sections, and Capt Barnett in particular mentioned the versatility of the transport section’s 10 personnel, who include transport corps and engineer corps drivers.

She said that with both transport operators coded in the same vehicles, transport corps drivers had attached to engineer plant sections to drive dump trucks and assist in plant tasks, a task usually reserved for their engineer counterparts. Similarly, engineer transport drivers participate in a two-week rotation system to work in Dili where the CSS Q-Store’s Logistic Support Node (LSN) is located.

“The LSN is the logistic conduit back to Australia, and are responsible for receipting, sending and receiving stores and equipment,” she said.

“The regular attachment for drivers to the LSN gives the drivers exposure to terminal operations at Dili wharf and in working with other UN agencies.”

The CSS troop also supports the Fijian infantry company, Brazilian Incident Response Unit, Pakistani Communications Unit and Bangladeshi Aviation Unit in the UN mission, as well as the Australian DCP and ASNCE in Dili.

Additionally, CSS troop is responsible for the vehicle maintenance of the Australian contingent vehicles and the management of general contingent owned equipment in East Timor. This encompasses UN vehicles in the UNSF, as well as ADF vehicles – many of which had been in East Timor since as early as 1999.

She said the deployment had been made easier with the wealth of experience within the troop, as many of the personnel were participating in their second or third deployment to East Timor.

“It’s reassuring to know the extraction will be done in a professional manner, continuing good relations with the East Timorese government and the local people,” she said.